As the latest round of NPD results in the US has already emphasized, Sony has one serious headache when it comes to PS5 stock – or lack of the same. While things have ironically started to get better in the last few days, the dream of switching PS4 players at an “unheard of pace” now looks long dead. With the trillions of dollars that Microsoft is also digging a few billion out of the back of its couch to buy publishers like Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard, the road ahead looks harsh for PlayStation and its dominance.
And after starting the generation strong, the stock issue is now really catch up with PS5. Speaks as part of a corporate meeting with breaststroke, Microsoft’s great Satya Nadella explained that his company’s latest console has “taken share globally two quarters in a row and [was] market leader this quarter among next-generation consoles in the US, Canada, the UK and Western Europe ”. Translation from Executive Speak: Xbox Series X | S has sold more than PS5, not Nintendo Switch, in select countries in the last two consecutive quarters.
As Microsoft no longer reports hardware sales figures, it’s unlikely we’ll ever find out how many more consoles it actually sold. But since Sony has dropped exclusive titles like Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7 alone over the last quarter, this is not exactly the result one had hoped for. The reality is that it produces as many consoles as it can and it still falls short. Things, it is probably fair to say, are does not will plan – largely through no fault of their own.